What Now For The Vines

The Vines have pulled out of a massive tour in the US so that singer Craig Nicholls can deal with his “mental and physical exhaustion issues”.

The band who pulled out of a gig in Sydney after a shambolic show (may 28), have now cancelled a lucrative arena tour with Incubus, which was due to start later this month.

The band would have played to hundreds of thousand of people in venues like New York’s Madison Square Garden and Denver’s Red Rock amphitheater.

A spokesperson told: The decision to cancel the tour has been made for the band to take a break and deal with mental and physical exhaustion issues they currently face. The band would like to thank their fans and everyone close to them for their continued support and understanding.

A friend of the band added: I definitely think there has to be a regroup and a rethink. I think there will (be) a break and some time at home in OZ. Work needs to be done.

The decision was made after the band’s Sydney Annandale Hotel show, which saw them hammered by the Australian press and banned from influential radio station Triple M.

At the gig a female photographer claimed singer Craig Nicholls kicked out and damaged her equipment “completely out of the blue”. At the same show, bassist Patrick Matthews walked off within the first couple of songs, leaving the rest of the group attempting to carry on without him, and Craig allegedly made animal noises at the bemused audience.

Triple M then banned the group from the station because of their “lack of respect”.

Craig used to work at McDonald’s and I won’t be surprised if it all goes wrong and he ends up back there asking, ‘Would you like fries with that?‘, the station’s program director Mike Fitzpatrick told Sydney’s Sun Herald newspaper.

He told the Australian Sunday Telegraph that Craig’s behavior at the gig had been “disgraceful“, adding: “Even if they were tired, they still have to respect their audience and behave professionally. We put it to our listeners, and they came back loud and clear that we should no longer support The Vines. Even if they have a Number One single, we will not be playing their music at any of the Triple M stations around Australia.”

Those close to the band have said they are worried for Nicholls’ health and hinted that he needs to take time out from being on the road. His father told an Australian newspaper that he’s “always worried about (his) kids”.

The group are scheduled to return to the UK for the Carling Weekend: Reading and Leeds Festival in August. As went to press they were still scheduled to play the festival.